Eleven years ago, Sylvia experienced sudden, acute hearing loss. About a year later, she began to hear the constant repetition of two notes. Gradually these built into musical phrases and, over time, into full melodies. "They sound like a cross between a wind instrument and a bell," she says.

Sylvia is a musician with perfect pitch so she was able to write down these tunes and record their development. Sometimes they sound like familiar songs. Others resemble passages from classical tunes and some are novel, short melodies.